At its core Syfy’s Sanctuary is a reworking of the X-Men premise with elements of Monster Quest thrown in for a little variety. Dr. Helen Mangus (Amanda Tapping) has made it her life’s work to protect the human population as well as the Abnormals (more commonly known as monsters) that exist within and at the fringes of society. Some of these Abnormals work along with Mangus tracking down various feral creatures. The Abnormals that can be “domesticated” are allowed to stay with Mangus in an old church, those that cannot be controlled or pose a threat to society are locked away in a massive underground vault (imagine an Indiana Jones warehouse with the somewhat unstable security of a Ghostbuster’s containment unit). If it sounds a bit silly, that’s because it is. But, unlike some of Syfy’s original programming, Sanctuary is enjoyable because of and in spite of its occasional goofiness.
For me the series works best when it focuses on Mangus’ search to understand, if not actually find, her father. The side stories that tend to deal with the supporting characters tend to feel less vital and unfocused. Henry Foss, Kate Freelander and Bigfoot all have their moments but their struggles feel less immediate. Then again, having spent the last five or so years writing a book that is about me trying to understand who my father was, I might be a little biased.
Fortunately, at least for me, the bulk of Sanctuary’s third season deals with Mangus’ unraveling of a tail of clues left by her father leading her towards a unknown metropolis hidden away from the world’s view; a city where Mangus might find her father, or at least some answers to the endless questions.
The Blu-ray release of Sanctuary: The Complete Third Season is similar to the previous two sets as it includes numerous commentaries, numerous behind-the-scenes featurettes on subjects like the special effects and music and a collection of deleted scenes, outtakes and bloopers. Because this is a Syfy series it should go without saying that some of the CGI effects are a bit cheesy, particularly in the season’s opening episode, but there are also a handful of moments that are rather impressive.
If you haven’t watched the prior two seasons of Sanctuary you’d still be able to pick up the storyline rather quickly but I’d recommend starting at the beginning because there is a lot of subtext that you won’t be aware of.